Great Companies: Please tell me something about the business and how did you come up with such an idea?
Kimberly Anne Bradshaw: I have been running HR consultancies for many years and worked in the City of London which meant commuting for over 5 hours each day so although I lived in St Leonards on Sea I was rarely here.
Having moved here 5 years ago I decided that I really wanted to work nearby and be part of the local community. This was in part prompted by a major illness which helped me focus on my key priorities.
As a result I decided to launch Spotlight HR and offer the kind of global blue chip experience I have to small and medium sized businesses who don't have or can't afford an HR expert or team.
Great Companies: What are the various services and products provided by your company?
Kimberly Anne Bradshaw: In short I offer a virtual HR team - either on a monthly retainer or on a project by project basis so that small and medium sized business leaders can focus on their business knowing that their HR and employment law compliance is up to date. Every client has their own particular issues and approaches so all work is tailored to suit them. HR is a very broad areas and covers a wide range of topics but is designed to help organisations be legally compliant as well as adding value to organisations through their people and to help put people problems in the past.
Services cover:-
· Technical HR (legal compliance, policies and processes, contracts, HR handbooks, background/pre-employment screening, job descriptions, preparation for recruitment, on-boarding new employees, outplacement support, employee engagement and wellbeing, employee relations, grievance investigation, disciplinaries, diversity and inclusion).
· Strategic HR (organisational change, restructures, redundancies, workforce planning for growth, HR strategies to meet business objectives, talent management, performance management, organisational design and development, culture).
· Learning and development (coaching leaders and managers, business skills training, team coaching).
Great Companies: Why should one choose you over others in this field?
Kimberly Anne Bradshaw: I have won several awards over the years for my work for my clients (a national training award for one client, voted most influential woman in HR consulting and also best leadership development provider). I have over 20 years’ experience and have worked with every business sector - from charities and CICs, religious orders, to FCA regulated firms, manufacturing, retail professional practices and travel. My background is working for global and/or blue chip organisations that most people will have heard of so have strong credibility and experience to bring to bear for the SME market.
I offer a totally bespoke solution to every client and clients stay with me for many years. My longest standing client has been with me for 16 years. Client relationships are key and most of my work has been achieved through referrals from other clients.
Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face?
Kimberly Anne Bradshaw: Having only launched on 30th January 2020 I didn't have long to start winning local work before coronavirus lockdown hit us. I think this will have impacted on how quickly the business built. Fortunately I had past contacts who became clients early on (not former clients as I didn't want to impact the last HR consultancy I set up and built for 7 years for a top 20 management consultancy). Adapting to new ways of building relationships through the lockdown was also a struggle. However every challenge is an opportunity to either learn something or move forward and I have been using the time to build networks, 'meet' people and improve my use of technology in order to do this.
Great Companies: What do you think are the few main things which are most important for a successful business? Kimberly Anne Bradshaw: Trust, strong working relationships, an open and honest approach, expertise and good planning.